1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an armpit golf putter having a weighed top putter head.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art, first, there was metal woods. Then there was "heel and toe weighted" golf putters. Next, there was "cavity back" irons and "oversize titanium" woods. The game of golf requires a golfer to have the ability to perform with different golf clubs over a wide range of circumstances. A major part of golf is putting, which requires the highest degree of precision. This precision is accomplished by practice and, if a golfer desires to improve his/her putting, a considerable amount of practice time is required to develop a correct putting stroke. The art of putting requires substantially different skills than are necessary when using other clubs. There are a large number of different putting strokes, each of which differs from the other. However, these putting strokes all have in common the need to precisely repeat the putting stroke each and every time if a high degree of skill in putting is to be acquired. The putting stroke, to be truly effective, requires that the golfer acquire a form and discipline that is both unique and unnatural as compared with other clubs. Form, techniques, grip and execution are all critical functions of putting, and difficulties arise in precisely repeating them from one putting stroke to the next.
The secret to putting is to create an overspin on a golf ball so the ball will hug the green and stay "on line." Putts hit to the right or left side of the cup will not "spin out." The overspin on the ball will cause these putts to actually dive into the cup.
Most golf putter heads are heel and toe weighted to create a larger "horizontal" sweet spot. They have very little mass at the center and top of the putter head. Sole weighted golf clubs are designed to impart more backspin and loft with a full golf shot. Golf putters, on the other hand, should impart overspin so the ball will hug the surface of the green as it rolls towards the hole. With the sole weighted golf putters, the putt must be hit perfectly with an upstroke to create the proper overspin. If not stroked perfectly then backspin or sidespin will be imparted on the golf ball which causes the putt to move off line and spin out.
One has heard the saying "Drive for Show and Putt for Dough." How true this is. A typical round of golf requires 14 drives and 30 to 36 putts. If the golfer can improve the putting by 10%, he/she can shave 3 or 4 strokes off the score. If the putting can be improved by 20%, the golfer can shave 6 or 7 strokes off the score. The structural arrangement of the instant invention provides the means to achieve this goal.
Putting is both an ART and a SCIENCE. The ART of putting requires a visualization or proper "read" of the slope and grain of the green and a feel for the distance of the putt. The SCIENCE of putting is a mechanical action which requires taking the correct aim and execution of the putting stroke in a manner which is repeatable.
Mechanical failure of a putting stroke causes the golfer to either "push" the putter off of the intended line to the right or "pull" the putter off of the intended line to the left. Generally, mechanical breakdown occurs in the small muscles of the hands, arms and wrists. The golfer can accomplish a significant improvement in putting by transferring the mechanical action of the stroke from the small muscles of the hands, arms and wrists to the large muscles of the shoulders. With the putter of the instant invention the golfer only uses the large muscles of the shoulder. The armpit acts as a socket to hold the top part of the putter shaft. The golfer can virtually eliminate a "push" or "pull" of a putt.
Kinetic energy of the club head is imparted to the ball thereby causing it to travel in a particular direction with a rolling motion, the attitude of the striking face upon impact with the ball tends to impart a slight topspin to the ball.
Various arrangements for a golfer that permits he/she to obtain improved control over putting of a golf ball are well known in the patent literature, as exemplified by the following patents: U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,668, issued on Apr. 1, 1997 to Fledge, discloses a club head with a vertical shaft extending upwardly from the center of the club head with the top of the shaft having a C-shaped band projecting perpendicularly to the shaft and adapted to support the shaft about the upper portion of the golfer's arm, the shaft being bent intermediate along the club head and top end into a V-shape with the top leg of the V defining a handle. U.S. Pat. No. 4,163,554, issued on Aug. 7, 1979 to Bernhardt, discloses a golfing putter having an elongated shaft being joined to the head by means of a connecting neck portion and axis of the shaft which diverges from the vertical axis of the head which is at an angle to the striking face. U.S. Pat. No. 4,227,694, issued on Oct. 14, 1980 to Drake, discloses an arm-assisting golf putter having an inverted T-shaped head having a central neck portion, an upwardly-directly rearwardly-inclined intermediate portion and a vertical upper portion. U.S. Pat. No. 4,621,816, issued on Nov. 11, 1986 to Leek, discloses a golf putter in which the shank portion of the shaft is connected with the head above one or more of the putting faces and the head is positioned remote from the golfer by a connection between the shank and the handle. U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,639 issued on Oct. 23, 1990 to Tucker, discloses a putter which is positioned by grasping the shaft at about mid-length whereby the free end of the shaft extends up the forearm of the gripping hand. U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,401, issued on Oct. 20, 1992 to Hodgkiss, discloses a putter training device wherein a cross-piece abuts a user's chest so that end portions extend behind a user's arms. U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,474, issued on May 11, 1993 to Voyer, discloses a golf putter wherein a medial stabilization portion and an upper stabilization portion is received in the crook of a golfer's arm and the upper stabilization portion contacts the outer surface of the golfer's upper arm. U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,971, issued on Nov. 14, 1995 to Tischler, discloses a putting training device that is affixed to the handle, such that the device projects upwardly from the handle. The reference device includes an elongated rod that has an insertion post on one end and a crutch-arm on the other, whereby the crutch-arm engages and fits under the rearward armpit of the golfer. U.S. Pat. No. 5,520,392, issued on May 28, 1996 to Foresi et al., discloses a golf training device wherein the distal end of an elongated member includes a bent section terminating in a mechanism for attaching that end to the shaft whereby the device adopts a pendulum-like putting swing.
None of the above references disclose a golf putter structural arrangement that includes: an elongated head having top and bottom surfaces, a front side surface, a back side surface, and two end surfaces, with the front side surface constituting the golf ball striking surface; an elongated onset hosel having a back edge, and being mounted at an angular relationship to the head; a shaft being mounted on the the back of the hosel and extending upwardly at an angle so as to extend through the armpit of the golfer; and thereby the golf putter structural arrangement of the instant invention operatively creating an overspin on a golf ball.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.